In 2015, a Louisiana woman began a long legal fight over neighbours using a rural road beside her home; in November 2026, appeals judges upheld her right to stop them using the private section beyond its first 1,000 feet

Living beside a quiet country road in French Settlement, Louisiana, Mona Matherne spent more than ten years trying to stop her neighbours from using a private stretch of land that passes her home. On Friday, 6 November 2026, state appeals judges brought the long-running dispute to an end. They ruled that the 73-year-old landowner has the legal right to stop her neighbours from driving beyond the first 1,000 feet of the unpaved road. The Louisiana Court of Appeal for the First Circuit upheld an earlier decision in the case of Mona Matherne v. Marshall and Mark Parker. The dispute first went to the local courts in 2015. The appeals court also confirmed her property rights and kept a permanent court order in place. The order prevents her neighbours from entering the private section of the road or harassing her in any way.

Origin of the decade long rural boundary feud

Matherne bought her country home at 18400 Legion Road in French Settlement in 2007. Her property runs along the eastern side of the road, which connects directly to Louisiana Highway 16. Her neighbours, Mark Parker and his relative Marshall Parker, own land further along the road. Mark owns land directly across from Matherne, while Marshall owns a nearby property. The disagreement started when Matherne noticed that the Parkers regularly used the full length of Legion Road to reach their properties. This meant driving past her home and crossing land that she said belonged entirely to her. In 2015, Matherne asked a court in Livingston Parish to stop them from using the road. She argued that Legion Road was not public beyond its first section and accused the Parkers of trespassing on her land. She also reported several incidents of threatening behaviour. She claimed that Mark Parker had repeatedly confronted and threatened her. She further accused him of displaying a firearm during separate incidents. The Parkers denied the accusations and said they had a legal right to use the road. They argued that Legion Road had become public through a legal process known as “tacit dedication”. They said parish officials had maintained the road several times over the years, which they believed had made the entire stretch a public road.

Court findings on public road dedication

The case went through several years of court hearings and reviews of evidence. In 2016, the court first issued a temporary order in Matherne’s favour, limiting how the Parkers could use the road. After reviewing detailed evidence about past road maintenance and property records, the 21st Judicial District Court delivered its final decision on 30 December 2024. The court ruled that the first 1,000 feet of Legion Road, starting from Highway 16, was a public road. However, the rest of the road was private property owned by Matherne. “The trial court found that the portion of Legion Road past the first 1,000 feet is private property and not a public roadway,” the court record stated. The trial judge also issued a permanent order stopping Mark and Marshall Parker from driving beyond the 1,000-foot point. They were also told to stop contacting or harassing Matherne. The Parkers later challenged the decision under docket number 2026 CA 0464. They argued that the trial judge had wrongly applied Louisiana property laws about public roads and had made a mistake by issuing the permanent order.

Appellate ruling confirms private property protections

According to a report published by Laws.com, the First Circuit Court of Appeal rejected the Parkers’ arguments and upheld the lower court’s decision in full. The appeals judges found that the Parkers had not provided enough evidence to show that parish workers had maintained the upper section of Legion Road regularly or extensively enough to make it a public road under Louisiana law. The court explained that occasional repairs or maintenance by local public workers do not automatically take away a landowner’s private property rights. There must be clear evidence that the public intended to use the road and that it received regular maintenance over a long period before a private road can be treated as public. The ruling keeps the permanent court order in place. This protects Matherne’s right to put up private property signs and stop vehicles from travelling beyond the 1,000-foot point. Court records also confirm that the Parkers could face legal penalties for contempt of court if they drive beyond the public section of the road or try to contact Matherne.